This is an appeal for toleration and unity in the Blues community! Over the last 15 years that I have been spinning the contemporary blues weekly, I have seen the popularity of the genre increase to some extent but overall the blues remains a “small niche” music category. It desperately needs the support of ALL of us who love the blues. But calls for division within the blues community have become more strident since Covid in my opinion. Accusations of racism, the need to “ferret out the fascists”, denunciation of artists that aren’t blues enough, and similar hateful diatribes populate the social media that I receive that is related solely to blues artists and blues DJs. This is needlessly divisive and drives away at least HALF the listening audience that don’t share your views.
Take a look at the sampling of stream numbers that I have posted below. Based on the current Roots Music report and looking at the related stream numbers on Spotify, among the top 5 current blues singles, two have less than a thousand streams and the top numbers belong to the Altered Five Blues Band (AFBB). The AFBB numbers are less than 10 per cent of the counts for pop and country songs listed in the Spotify current 50 top streams. We need all the fans we can get to help spread the word about all of these fabulous contemporary blues artists!
And yet, instead of encouraging each other and looking for opportunities to expand our audience, a significant number of recognizable names in the blues are castigating their own audience and followers with posts that they have to know some will find personally offensive. Why do that? Most blues artists rely on live performances and touring to make an actual living! Why drive any of your audience away because some of them don’t agree with your politics??
I saw an article recently that stated that people in North America and Europe agree almost 75% of the time on a common set of political issues! Be tolerant and grow your audience is what I take from that!! We agree on much more than we disagree about! When you see a wrong, speak out in your music if you feel the need. But remember…when was the last time someone changed your mind by lecturing you or insulting you? Music can change minds and hearts…give it a chance! Let the music and lyrics speak to them…not your latest post on social media!
So I ask, I plead, I beg….tone down the rhetoric toward those that you disagree with culturally and politically within the blues community. I am not your enemy because I don’t share your political point of view. I do my best to appeal to all of my audience during my shows. I spin a cross section of the blues (e.g. Chicago Blues, blues rock, rockin’ blues, new blues, classic blues) because I like it and audiences seem to enjoy the mix. I don’t shy away from artists with a point of view (e.g. Shemekia Copeland, Eric Bibb) or artists (that I can see from their posts) that I don’t agree with on an issue. If the music is good, I spin it.
The blues needs ALL of us. I don’t believe the blues is dying but given the number of incredible contemporary blues artists and the glaring lack of airplay and attention they receive, our focus should be on growing the audience not attacking them!!
Roots Music Report – Top Five Single Tracks March 9, 2026
Farmhand I’m Not Complaining <1000 streams
Alex Lopez – When I Sing the Blues 3,314 streams
Roomful of Blues – Dirty People 4,679 streams
Mike Bourne Band – Kansas City O’Clock <1000 streams
Altered Five Blues Band – Can’t Shake it 120,585 streams
Spotify Tracks from the Top 10 March 8, 2026
Harry Styles American Girls – 1,767,457 streams
Pink Pantheress -Stateside – 1,606,397 streams
Ella Langley – Choosin’ Texas – 1,487,196 streams
Bruno Mars – Risk It All – 1,294,202 streams
Bad Bunny – DTMF 1,265,931 streams
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